The Life of Yee Jock Leong: Introduction
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. (DML) — My great-grandmother burned a lot of my great-grandfather’s belongings after his death. I assume we lost quite a bit of family information in the flames.
Very few documents survived the flames, such as letters written in classical Chinese. I cannot make much sense out of what is left, but I can fill in a few details of his life from what little evidence remains. For instance, the two cards above are—I am told—both his and that one is a birth name (presumably the one at left) and the other is a married name. He often went by the name of Yee Jackson, which causes much confusion as Jackson is listed as his surname in some official records. The photo at right shows Yee Jock Leong in what I believe to be the 1930s.
In March 2004, I traveled to San Francisco to visit the Pacific Region office of the National Archives and Records Administration (which is actually located in San Bruno, California). There I discovered that a Chinese Exclusion Act (CEA) file on him. While I am still angry at the level of persecution faced by Chinese and other immigrants who tried (and still try) to enter this country, CEA files contain a gold mine of information for those researching their Asian ancestry. (Note that the laws were expanded to exclude immigrants from other nations.)
There may have been more records in the San Francisco area at one time, but many documents about Chinese and other Asian immigrants held by U.S. immigration authorities were destroyed by a 1940 fire at the Angel Island Immigration Station in San Francisco Bay (the entry point for many Asian immigrants on the West Coast). I have reason to believe—by references to documents concerning my great-great-grandfather, Yee Kim Wo—that more records once existed.
I learned a lot about my great-grandfather’s family from the San Francisco trip. To compare what I’ve learned, compare this page to its predecessor.
Subsequent posts will reveal more of what (little) I know of Yee Jock Leong’s life. . .